Spirit
by BlueABC123
Summary: Teo meets a girl who is definitely hiding something... And they have a LOT of bad luck. All in Teo's POV.
1. Chapter 1

There's nothing in the world I love more than the freedom of flying. Nothing. I never let being handicapped get me down- I wouldn't let it. But one day, I couldn't help feeling left out. Aang was visiting, something I always loved. Today he was actually teaching people some beginner airbending moves. I knew I couldn't do that. Then I saw a girl sitting under a tree, examining a closed glider in her hands, as if she was making sure it was absolutely perfect without a single scratch. She looked my age and she had brown hair and green eyes. She wore a pale yellow shirt with orange leggings and brown boots. I pushed my wheelchair over to her.  
"Hi," I said.  
She looked up. She only spoke loud enough so that I could just hear. "Oh... Hi."  
I wasn't sure what to say. "Um... Nice glider."  
She blushed. "Thank you. I... I made it."  
My eyes widened. "You made it? Wow."  
She blushed darker. "Who are you?"  
"My name is Teo."  
"I'm Skyler."  
For a second neither of us said anything. I have to say, I felt like a moron. Then I got kind of confused. "Why aren't you with the others? Aang is teaching them some beginner airbending moves. Or, he's trying to... Doesn't look like he's having much luck."  
Skyler blushed. Again. "Um... I don't... I can't really... Uh..."  
"It's okay if you don't think you'd be good at it. No one else over there really is."  
She looked down. "I just... I... Can't... Go over there right now. I... Don't have many friends."  
I felt bad for her. "Well... We're friends, aren't we?"  
Skyler's eyes widened as if she wasn't expecting that. "I just met you."  
I shrugged. "So? I'd be glad to be your friend. I mean, I like most people, and you seem nice."  
She smiled. "Oh... Okay..."  
I tried to think of something else to say. Then I got an idea. "Hey, do you wanna fly?"  
Skyler looked me questioningly. "You mean with the glider? But..." She trailed off.  
I knew what she was thinking, she just didn't want to say it.  
"It's okay," I replied. "I know I'm in a wheelchair. But watch."  
I pulled a lever on my wheelchair and my glider immediately unfolded. That was a new feature. Before, someone would have to help me attach it, but that was annoying, so my dad made it so that I could do it myself.  
Skyler smiled. "Okay. You're on."  
We were off. Skyler must've had years of practice, because she was really good. She did all kinds of spins and flips in the air. I could copy some of them, but others, I had no chance. After a while, we landed. Aang had left by then, so people were gradually returning to their houses. Going by the looks on their faces, none of them had any luck with airbending.  
"That was fun," I said. "You're really good."  
"Thanks," Skyler replied. "So are you. I should get home now. My mom is probably wondering where I am."  
I nodded. "Okay. Wanna meet back here tomorrow?"  
"Sure! Bye, Teo!"  
She left, her glider in her hand, running to wherever she lived. I stayed where I was for a minute, thinking about how she was so good at flying. There was something about the way she moved through air that was... Different. She was hiding something. And I was going to find out what.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The next morning, I woke up terrified. I had no idea where I was. I was in a dark room. My wheelchair was pushed up against the wall and my hands were chained to the wall. I wasn't alone though. Skyler was standing next to me, her hands chained to the wall like mine, her glider strapped to her back.  
"Skyler?" I said. "What's... Where are we?"  
"I don't know! But look at the wall!"  
I looked at the wall across from us. A Fire Nation symbol. My eyes widened. "But... The war is over! We won! How... Why..."  
She shook her head. "It's my fault! I should've told you!"  
"Told me WHAT?"  
"I'm an airbender!"  
If my hands were free, I would've slapped myself. It was so obvious. She flew differently, she could do tricks with that glider I couldn't, and she didn't bother listening to Aang's little airbending lesson because she didn't NEED it.  
"Wait," Skyler said. "We must be on a ship. I can feel it moving."  
I nodded. Just then, some Fire Nation dude came in.  
Skyler looked up. "What do you want?" She said it loudly and sternly. I was surprised. Skyler usually spoke quietly.  
"My name is Huo," he said. "Do you know why you're here?"  
Skyler looked away. "I'm an airbender."  
This didn't make sense to me. "She's an airbender. So what?"  
Huo laughed a little. "You just don't get it, do you? The Fire Nation lost the war. We failed. But the one thing the Fire Nation accomplished was wiping out the airbenders. I'm not going to let you take that away. I've been watching you two for quite some time, Skyler and Teo."  
He moved in front of Skyler. And she kicked him. Hard.  
"OW!"  
Skyler smiled. "Problem?"  
Huo was furious. "I'm getting some ice. I'll be back in ten minutes."  
He stormed out of the room.  
I looked at Skyler. "You're an AIRBENDER?"  
She nodded. "Yes. I found out by accident... I was mad, I moved my arm, and airbended my friend right into a fountain. That's why you're my only friend. People got scared. And I've never told anyone I could airbend, so please keep it a secret."  
I nodded. "But I'm not an airbender. Why do you think Huo wants me?"  
She looked surprised. "You haven't figured it out yet? Teo, you might not be an airbender, but you have the spirit of one."  
I was about to respond when Huo came back in. Muttering to himself, he took out a key. He unlocked our chains, probably about to take us into one of the other rooms. He held each of our wrists tightly. I knew this would be our only chance to escape, but I wasn't sure how. Skyler however, seemed to have it all planned out. She immediately took her staff out and used it to airbend him out the window and into the ocean. Glass flew everywhere, and I put my hands out to protect myself. When I looked at them, they were fine. Thank you, open-fingered gloves.  
"Ow!" Skyler cried.  
I pushed my wheelchair a little closer to her.  
"Are you okay?"  
"Ouch... Yes... Yep."  
"There's glass in your hand. You're bleeding."  
She looked at it. "Oh... Yes... I'm bleeding..." She closed her eyes tight. "I hate blood..."  
I went a little closer.  
"This might hurt," I warned.  
Carefully, I took the piece of glass out of her hand. "Ok, all set," I told her.  
Skyler opened her eyes. "Thank you... You didn't have to do that, you know."  
"I just... I wanted to. It looked painful."  
"Thank you."  
"Any time."  
And then there was an awkward silence. I didn't know if I should move or wait for her to say something or just... I don't know... Something else.  
"We're... A little close..." Skyler said, backing up a bit and blushing like crazy.  
"Oh, my bad."  
She looked around. "And now to get off this ship."  
TO BE CONTINUED...


	3. Chapter 3

Spirit Chapter Three We were both still blushing as we tried to find our way around the ship. It was going to be hard for us to get home- we didn't even know where we were.  
"Look." Skyler pointed to a door on the ceiling. "That will let us get out onto the deck. Then we can just use our gliders to fly away."  
I nodded. "Okay, good plan, but we don't know where we are."  
"That's the least of our problems. If Huo is out there, he'll want to capture us again."  
The worst thing about being in a wheelchair is not being able to get up stairs. Skyler helped me, though. Soon we were outside, and there was a great breeze.  
Skyler opened her glider. "Let's get out of here."  
I nodded and pulled the lever on my wheelchair, and then we were off. We flew for a very long time, until we found a small Earth Kingdom island. We decided to stay there for the night, in a cave we found. Skyler made a fire, and we just sat near it for a while.  
"Hey, Teo?" she asked.  
"Yes?"  
"You DO have the spirit of an airbender. You should know that. And really, you just have a lot of spirit in general."  
I smiled. "Thanks. So do you."  
She sighed. "Do you think we're close to home?"  
"I don't know," I admitted. "I'm just glad I'm not alone."  
She nodded in agreement. "Yes, me too."  
It was my turn to sigh. "I kind of miss my dad, though."  
Skyler put her hand on my shoulder. "We'll get home. I know we can do it."  
"Thanks."  
Her cheeks turned red.  
"You know, you don't have to be so embarrassed," I told her. "It's just me."  
"I know. I just... Never mind. Good night."  
She found a comfortable position on the ground and eventually fell asleep. I slouched down in my wheelchair and did the same. I fell asleep with a smile on my face. The next morning when I woke up, Skyler was playing around with an air ball, looking quite bored.  
Her face brightened when she saw me. "Hi, Teo."  
"Hey, Skyler." I replied. "Cool trick."  
"Thanks. Want to hold it?"  
I frowned. "I'm not an airbender."  
Skyler rolled her eyes. "How many times do I have to tell you this? You've got the spirit! That's all you need."  
I shrugged and nervously reached out my hands. She handed it over. It was an amazing feeling to actually bend air. I don't think I can really describe it.  
"Wow... This is... Amazing," I said.  
Skyler smiled. "It's truly the greatest thing in the world."  
After a few more seconds, I let it go.  
Skyler looked thoughtful. "We should eat here, while we can."  
"Yeah. There's probably some shops somewhere nearby."  
We left the cave and looked around.  
"Hey, look!" I exclaimed. "A restaurant. I have some money."  
"So do I," Skyler replied. "But that's a pretty fancy restaurant."  
I shrugged. "It's not like they'll kick us out for not having fancy clothes or something."  
When we got inside, I realized it WAS really fancy. Some guy at the front desk greeted us.  
"Welcome! Two people?" he asked.  
Skyler nodded. "Yes. Just us."  
"We only need one chair," I put in.  
He nodded and led us to a table.  
"Thanks," me and Skyler said at the same time.  
She sat down and I pushed my wheelchair up to the table. A waitress came over with some menus.  
"Oh, you're on a date?" she asked.  
"No!" Skyler replied, blushing madly.  
My palms were suddenly sweating and I was shaking. "I... We don't really like each other!"  
Skyler glared at me and I said, "No, no! We like each other! Just not like, LIKE like."  
Skyler nodded quickly. "Oh yeah! Right! Right, right, right!"  
The waitress shrugged and walked away.  
"That was uh, awkward," I stuttered.  
"Um, yes," Skyler replied shakily.  
"She was off."  
"Heh... Right... She was off. Very off. Extremely-"  
"Don't push it."  
"Right."  
The food came and we ate fast. I hadn't realized how hungry I was. Then we were off, flying over the ocean again. And that's when we saw it.  
TO BE CONTINUED... 


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four I heard Skyler gasp.  
"T-Teo! Look! Do you s-see that?"  
I looked ahead and smiled. "I see it. Ba Sing Se."  
"I can't go there!" Skyler said nervously.  
I was shocked. "Why? What's wrong?"  
"I... I just..."  
"We'll be together. Everything will be okay!"  
She slowly nodded. "Alright... I trust you... But stay close! Please! Now let's land."  
We landed right in the middle of the city. Skyler was shaking furiously.  
I put my hand on her shoulder and she jumped a little. "Oh, sorry... You scared me."  
I raised an eyebrow. "You're shaking. Really badly."  
She went a little closer to me. "Don't... Just... This is not a good place for me..."  
"Why?" I asked.  
"Why do you want to know?"  
"Uh..."  
"Sorry! I... Let's just go."  
We walked around the city for a long time (well, technically I wasn't WALKING, but... Oh, you know). After a while we found a small hotel. Very small. No very nice either, but it was extremely cheap. It took the rest of our money to rent the smallest room. It was worth it, though- much better than sleeping in a cave. I wanted to know why Skyler didn't want to come to Ba Sing Se. It was safe now that the war was over. It was huge, too. There was a lot to see. Why wouldn't she want to come?  
"Hey Skyler," I said. She looked at me and said nothing. I could see fear in her eyes. "Why didn't you want to come here?"  
She buried her face in her hands and shook her head. I suddenly felt bad I asked.  
I decided to take a guess. "Did something bad happen here to you?"  
She looked up and shook her head no.  
"You can tell me, you know," I said.  
Skyler sighed. "I... I know. Maybe later."  
I nodded. "Want to take a walk?"  
That seemed to brighten her up a little. "Ok."  
There really was a lot to see. So many people, shops, restaurants, and huge buildings.  
Suddenly Skyler froze. "Y-you!" she screamed and pointed to a man.  
He was tall, mean looking, and wore all dark clothes.  
"Who is that?" I asked.  
I didn't like him already. He walked over to us and Skyler stood behind my wheelchair.  
"Well," he began, "it's you, Skyler. Long time no see, huh?"  
"Stay away from me!" she screamed back at him. "L-leave me alone!"  
I was now extremely confused. "What's going on? What did he do?"  
Skyler pulled up her sleeve and showed me a long scar. It looked like it had hurt a lot. "He did THIS to me," she told me. "His daughter was the girl I accidently pushed into the fountain. His name is Evron. He's absolutely INSANE. I knew he moved here with his family."  
I wasn't expecting that. To scare Skyler to the point where she didn't even want to come here, there had to be a huge fight.  
Evron cracked his knuckles. "I don't think we were done last time, but you ran off."  
"I was bleeding."  
I pushed my wheel chair a little closer to Skyler. "Don't worry," I whispered. "He won't hurt you. I won't let him."  
"Should we fly?"  
I shook my head. "No point. He'll just come and find us. We can't fly forever."  
"Nowhere to run now, huh?" Evron said, slowly walking closer.  
I tried not to show that I was shaking. "Get out of here. Now."  
"Who are you? Her boyfriend?"  
I didn't let myself blush this time. "That was so funny, I forgot to laugh. Now leave! NOW!"  
"I don't think I will." He started walking closer.  
Skyler ran out from behind me and kicked him in the stomach as hard as she could. He fell to the ground.  
"Teo, come on!" Skyler yelled.  
We went as fast as we could back to the hotel room. But we had no idea what was coming next.  
TO BE CONTINUED... 


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five "I'm sorry! I'm really sorry, Teo!"  
Skyler said, crying a little. We were back in our hotel room finally. I wasn't sure why she was apologizing. "Don't be sorry. You did nothing wrong."  
"You could've gotten hurt! And I just got him more mad- for all we know, he could be hunting us down right now! It's my fault."  
I shook my head. "No it isn't. Right now though, we need to figure out how to get money."  
"No we don't," she replied still sounding upset. "I stole Evron's wallet."  
I couldn't help laughing. "I have to say, I'm impressed."  
She smiled. "Thank you."  
Then we heard thunder and the sound of rain pouring down. I frowned. "Hm... Can't fly in this. It would be too dangerous. We'll just have to stay the night and hopefully leave tomorrow."  
"Oh... Okay."  
"Are you okay with that?" I asked. I didn't want to make her uncomfortable.  
Skyler nodded. "Yes. I'm fine. I... I trust you."  
Suddenly we heard voices outside.  
"What are they saying?" I asked curiously.  
Skyler shrugged. "I don't know but I know who's voices they are."  
"Wait... Are they..."  
"Yes. Huo and Evron. They must've found each other."  
"Okay... Stay calm. They don't know we're here."  
"I am calm."  
"Okay. Good."  
It was hard to sleep that night. We both kept waking up, and the rain wasn't stopping, or even getting any lighter. Skyler was shaking the whole night. The next morning, the rain had stopped. It was kind of wet out, but that didn't matter. We wouldn't be on the ground, we'd be in the sky (which is much better in my opinion). Skyler was still shaking when we went outside. With good reason, too. I looked over and she was gone.  
"Skyler?" I called.  
Silence.  
"Skyler! Skyler, can you hear me? Where are you?"  
I took a deep breath. This was okay. She couldn't be far. I had only looked away for a few seconds. I then I heard her scream.  
"Teo!"  
I gasped. I tried to find where her voice had come from, but she only screamed for a second. Stupid three letter name. I pushed my wheelchair as fast as I could down a dark alley. She was tied to a pole, and Huo and Evron were standing near her talking about whatever it is evil people talk about.  
"Skyler!" I yelled.  
She looked up and I realized there was tape over her mouth. Huo and Evron came over to me.  
"Well," Huo began, "look who's here."  
Evron crossed his arms. "We aren't going to have a problem here, are we?"  
I shrugged. "Let Skyler go and we'll have no problems at all."  
Huo came towards me, looking vicious.  
"Hey, you wouldn't hurt a handicapped kid, would you?" I said. I didn't like referring to myself as handicapped, but it's true, and I was desperate.  
Evron said, "Actually Huo, you WOULD have to be kind of a jerk to hurt a handicapped kid."  
Huo looked at him in disbelief. "You think I care?"  
They started arguing. Carefully and quietly, I went over to Skyler and untied her. She ripped the tape off her mouth and took her staff out, which like usual, was strapped to her back. She used it to airbend Huo and Evron right against the wall. Evron tried to get up, but immediately fell back down. Huo yelled at us in frustration as we got out of there. We we're in the sky flying, when we found what could be our ticket home.  
TO BE CONTINUED... 


	6. Chapter 6

I gasped. "Look, Skyler! A ship!"  
Her face lit up. "I bet they can get us home! Or at least close!"  
I nodded. "Let's land."  
We landed on the ship. A man was standing there. His clothes made it obvious that he was from the Earth Kingdom.  
"Um, excuse me?" he said. "Who gave you permission to board my ship?"  
I frowned. "Sorry, sir. We're lost and were wondering if you knew the way to the Northern Air Temple."  
He shook his head. "No, I'm sorry. You can stay aboard for a while. I'm Russell."  
"I'm Teo."  
Skyler stepped forward. "My name is Skyler."  
Russell nodded. "Well, I'll show you to your room."  
Our room was actually pretty nice. There was an Earth Kingdom symbol on the wall, green furniture to match, and a yellow rug. When Russell left, we tried to get some sleep, but it wasn't very easy. It was the third night on our own, and we were only thirteen. Skyler woke up and sat up in her bed. I was awake, too.  
Skyler sighed. "Teo?"  
I reached over and turned on the lamp. "Yes?"  
"When do you think we'll get home?" she asked.  
"I honestly don't know," I answered. "But I know we can do it. We just need to figure out if we're even heading in the right direction. But we have spirit, right?"  
Skyler sat up a little straighter and nodded confidently. "Right. Spirit. Good night."  
"Night!"  
I didn't sleep much and we both woke up in another room. It looked kind of like the one Huo had trapped us in, but we weren't chained to the wall. Russell walked in, closing the door behind him.  
"W-what's going on?" Skyler asked nervously.  
Russell put his hands on his hips. "You think I don't know that you're an airbender?"  
Skyler's eyes widened. "But how-"  
"The way you were flying."  
Well, luckily for us, he made a mistake. I guess he didn't think Skyler was all that powerful, because he hadn't chained her up. She made a huge air ball, much bigger than the one I'd held, and threw it at Russell. He screamed and fell backwards. Skyler ran out of the room, and I followed close behind. Soon we were out on deck.  
"Well," I said, "this is familiar."  
Skyler laughed for the first time since I met her. We flew off. I couldn't believe Russell was lying- he'd seemed so nice. I couldn't trust people so easily anymore. I did however trust Skyler- we'd been through too much not to. We were too tired to keep flying so we landed on the first island we saw. We met a girl there named Ada. She looked about fifteen and offered to let us stay the night at her house. I wasn't sure after staying with Russell, but there didn't seem to be any hotels we could stay in, and no caves either. And sleeping outside without any tents or supplies just didn't sound too great.  
"You can sleep in the spare room," Ada told us. "I'm sure my mother won't mind."  
Then a very tall woman walked into the room.  
"Oh, that's my mother, Kirai," Ada said. "Mom, these people need a place to stay."  
Kirai looked at us disapprovingly. "Them? They're not staying here. Look at them."  
I didn't know what she meant. We looked fine. Of course, our clothes were ripped and dirty, and we hadn't bathed since we were home, but other than that we looked fine...  
"There's nothing wrong with us," Skyler said, crossing her arms. "But this is your house, and I respect-"  
"Get OUT!" Kirai yelled, pushing Skyler out the door. She grabbed the handles on my wheelchair and did the same to me.  
I looked at Skyler. "You okay?"  
She nodded. "I hate some people."  
"Believe me, so do I."  
At this point, I didn't know if we'd ever make it home. The I remembered the whole spirit thing. Right. Had to keep that up. We walked around the island for a while. We didn't even know what island we were on. That is until, we met... Them.  
TO BE CONTINUED... 


	7. Chapter 7

We randomly walked around for a while, not doing anything specific. Finding a place to eat would be nice, and shelter would also have been greatly appreciated, but the island was small and none a of that was in sight. Then we realized what island we were on, because we found the Kyoshi Warriors. Apparently Suki was visiting Sokka so a girl named Kyrrah was filling in as leader. I recognized Ty Lee, but I didn't know any of the others.  
"You can stay with us," Kyrrah offered. "Just until you're ready to leave. It is our job to help people when they need it, after all."  
I decided the Kyoshi Warriors could definitely be trusted. Or maybe I was just extremely tired and hungry. Either way, me and Skyler decided it was safe. So we were showed to another spare room. I was exhausted, yet I couldn't fall asleep. I knew Skyler felt the same way too, because she kept tossing and turning in her bed. I gave up on forcing myself to sleep.  
"Skyler," I whispered, "are you awake?"  
She sat up. "Yes."  
I sighed. "I think I'm losing my spirit."  
She shook her head. "No you're not. Teo, you have more spirit than anyone I've ever known. And you're not losing it."  
Well, I really appreciated that, but it sure felt like I was losing spirit. I probably slept about three or four hours that night. When I woke up the next morning, I half expected to be in jail or something, but everything seemed pretty normal. Skyler was laying awake in bed on her back, looking up at the ceiling.  
"Good morning." I stretched my arms.  
She sat up. "'Morning."  
We went to the kitchen. I was surprised to see that the Kyoshi warriors were already up and dressed, makeup and all. Kyrrah was making breakfast while the other warriors were sitting at a huge table and talking about girlish stuff, like makeup, dresses, and things like that. Skyler looked as annoyed by it as I was. We didn't complain, though- we were starving, and these people were nice enough to share their breakfast with us.  
"We can't thank you enough," Skyler said after we ate.  
I nodded in agreement. "This was really nice of you. It means a lot after everything we've been through the past few days. We should go now, though."  
"You don't have to leave," Kyrrah told us. "We'd be happy to let you stay."  
"Thanks, but we really have to get home," Skyler replied.  
So we said goodbye and soon we were flying over the ocean again.  
"Ok," I said. "We've been through everything that possibly could've happened. Nothing else could happen to us at this point."  
Skyler sighed and nodded. "I guess. But sometimes things don't work out the way they should."  
So much for cheering her up. She was right, though. We weren't home yet. We didn't know where to go, how we'd get food and shelter, or even if we were going in the right direction. Believe me, it's not a good feeling.  
"Should we land there for now?" I pointed to an island.  
Skyler looked ahead and nodded. "Yes. We can stay there the night."  
It looked like a normal island. A nice one, actually. The buildings looked really nice and there were some sandy beaches. We'd have no problem there. When we landed, we saw something that might actually really help us. Or, someone.  
Skyler's eyes widened."Is that... The avatar's bison?"  
I smiled and nodded. "Yes! Appa!"  
Appa walked over to us. I pet his giant head. Skyler slowly reached out her hand and pet him.  
"Aang has to be close by," I said. "He's always with Appa."  
Appa made a noise.  
"Maybe he wants us to follow him," Skyler suggested.  
I shrugged. "I wouldn't be surprised. He's smart."  
Appa lead us through some bushes an onto a beach. Aang was near the ocean, practicing waterbending.  
"Aang!" I exclaimed, pushing my wheelchair over to him.  
Skyler followed me. Aang dropped the water he was bending and looked at us in surprise.  
"Teo?" he said. "What are you doing here? And who's that?"  
"I'm Skyler," she told him.  
Aang smiled. "Hi! I'm Aang. Um, Teo, does your dad know you're here? How did you even get here?"  
I sighed. "Long story. Bottom line is, we're lost."  
Aang looked thoughtful. "You managed to get yourselves pretty lost. I could take you home on Appa, but it would definitely take a while. I hope that's okay."  
"Of course!" I said. "We just want to get home! We don't care how long it takes."  
Skyler nodded in agreement. "As long as we're getting there."  
"Okay," Aang said. "Let's fly."  
TO BE CONTINUED... 


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight That night after eating, we were off. We flew for a pretty long time, until we landed on an island that looked very similar to the one we found Aang on. We decided to spend the night there. Aang had some money, so when we put it together with the money from Evron's wallet, we had enough to get a decent hotel room. We tied Appa up outside after making sure he had a little water, just in case he needed it. Which means we had to be near a lake. That night, we finally got enough sleep. We were going home. Or so we thought. Apparently our bad luck wasn't over just yet- and now it was rubbing off on Aang. When we woke up the next morning, Appa was gone.  
"Appa!" Aang called with tears in his eyes. "No! I already lost him once! APPA!"  
He took out the bison-whistle he always carried and blew into it as hard as he possibly could. Nothing happened.  
I knew this must've been hard for Aang. "Don't worry."  
Skyler put her hand on his shoulder. "We aren't going to rest until we find him."  
I nodded. "We'll do whatever it takes."  
Aang sighed. "Thanks. It would be best to split up. You two go look in town."  
"Ok," Skyler replied. "When should we meet back here?"  
Aang thought for a minute. "Two hours. That'll be enough time to look around and ask people if they saw anything last night."  
So me and Skyler walked to the town, calling Appa's name. We must've looked pretty stupid.  
"Where do you think he could be?" I asked.  
Skyler shrugged, looking worried. "I have no idea. Someone could have stolen him. Or maybe he got the rope off, decided to take a walk, and got lost."  
I shook my head. "I doubt he would have gotten lost. Appa is really smart."  
We kept going for an extremely long time.  
"Ok, now my feet are starting to hurt," Skyler complained.  
That's one good thing about being in a wheelchair.  
"We should head back now anyway," I replied. "It's probably almost been two hours by now."  
This might not sound like news to you, but we never did make it back. As we were walking, we heard Appa's unique... I don't know what you'd call it... Just his unique noise.  
Skyler gasped. "Appa! That way!"  
The noise was coming from a dark alley. So far, the only experience we'd had with a dark alley hadn't been a very good one, so I wasn't exactly excited. I followed Skyler into the alley and gasped.  
"You... Stupid... Animal!" a man yelled, trying to tie Appa up. He turned and saw us. I got a good look at his face and immediately recognized him- Russell. "You two! Again!"  
Skyler stepped forward. "Let Appa go now and we'll leave. If not you'll not only have us to worry about, but the avatar too."  
Russell put up his hands and replied sarcastically, "Oh, the avatar, I'm so scared." He glanced at Appa. "That animal's worth a lot. Plus I get my revenge."  
Skyler took her staff out. Smart idea, keeping it strapped to her back.  
Russell crossed his arms. "So the little airbender is going to try and get me? I'd better watch out."  
Appa made a noise. I wasn't sure I'd ever seen Skyler this mad.  
"Yes! You really had better watch out!" she screamed.  
I was too shocked by the anger in her voice to do anything. She slowly walked towards Russell but he didn't move. I stayed completely still. Even Appa didn't move. Skyler raised her staff. She made a sharp air current and whipped it at him. He screamed in pain and fell to the ground. On his arm was a deep cut that would probably scar, and definitely take a long time to heal. Appa stood up and tried to shake the ropes off. Skyler looked as if she was frozen, gripping her staff so hard that her knuckles were white. I was still shocked. Russell stood up, his hand over his cut, and yelled, "Guards! Get the airbender! And the boy, too!"  
Some men dressed in Earth Kingdom uniforms came out of practically nowhere and tied up my hands. Skyler raised her staff but one of them took it. Another tied her hands up the same way as mine.  
"Let me go!" she commanded.  
The guards simply held her tighter. I couldn't bear to watch.  
"That's ENOUGH!" I screamed. "We just want Appa back!"  
They tightened the ropes on my hands. "Ow!"  
Skyler looked at me with tears in her eyes. "I'm... I'm so sorry, Teo."  
"Please don't be."  
They dragged her into a huge, old, dirty-looking building. Another guard pushed my wheelchair in behind her. I was put in to a dark room with basically nothing except a window above me. I had no idea what to do. I looked at the ropes on my hands and wondered if I could bite them off. Nope. Too thick. I looked at the window. No, that would never help.  
"Stupid... Airbender..." I heard Russell's voice say from outside the door and suddenly, I hated him all over again.  
I wondered what he did with Appa. He wouldn't really be as stupid as to keep him outside, would he? I looked back out the window and saw... Appa. He was still tied up. Using his huge head, he smashed the window. I just sat there, my eyes wide, staring at him. He took one of his sharp horn and cut the ropes on my hands.  
"Thank you," I whispered in amazement. "But... How will..."  
I looked into his huge, knowing eyes and a flash of understanding passed between us.  
'Go,' he seemed to say. 'Go help Skyler.'  
"I... What if..."  
'Spirit.'  
He closed his eyes and laid down. I pushed my wheelchair over to the door and turned the door-knob. Locked. I was discouraged but I remembered the whole spirit thing. I reached into my pocket and dug out a paperclip. Sticking it in the keyhole, I reminded myself to thank my dad for the emergency paperclip idea.  
"Don't worry, Skyler," I said to no one. "I'm coming."  
TO BE CONTINUED... 


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine Picking the lock wasn't exactly easy, but I did it after a few tries. I checked to make sure the coast was clear and quietly pushed my wheel chair into the dark hallway. I had to find out where they were keeping Skyler before they figured out I was gone, or worse, they hurt Skyler and Appa. At one point I was forced to hide in a closet when a guard walked passed, but that wasn't a big deal. I wished I could call her but that would just be plain stupid. After opening every door I could find, I was feeling pretty discouraged. That's when I heard her.  
"I SWEAR, IF YOU DON'T BACK OFF, I'LL MAKE YOU WISH YOU WERE NEVER BORN!" she screamed.  
"All I asked was your name," another person said. They must've been a guard.  
"Tell me where Teo is!" Skyler demanded. "Appa, too."  
I heard the guard sigh. "You just don't get it, do you? Stupid airbender."  
"Hm."  
"I'm afraid I have to punish you, now."  
I didn't want to hear any more of this. I opened the door and it slammed hard against the wall. Skyler was strapped to a chair and a guard was standing near her, his arms crossed.  
"Teo!" Skyler exclaimed. "You're okay!"  
I glared at the guard. "Let her go."  
The guard looked surprised to see me. "How did you escape? There was no possible way... And... You're in a wheelchair."  
"I used something called spirit. Who are you, anyway?"  
"My name is Adler," he replied. "Master Adler, actually."  
I raised an eyebrow. "Master? Of what?"  
He smirked. "Earthbending."  
My eyes widened.  
"Don't even go near him," Skyler instructed. "If you got hurt-"  
"I'll be fine," I said.  
"Trust me, you do NOT want me mad," Adler said.  
I thought for a minute. I needed a plan. There was no way I could fight him. Or was there? I concentrated. I kept that one word, spirit, in my mind. It had gotten me this far, anyway. I closed my eyes. I felt Adler staring at me, as if he was wondering what I was doing. Skyler gasped. She knew. I took a deep breath and opened my eyes. I made an air ball, threw it at Adler, and he fell backwards, banging his head hard on the wall. He didn't get up, but it couldn't have hurt that much, so maybe it was shock. I didn't care what it was. I didn't waste my chance. I quickly untied Skyler and she jumped up. She ran across the room and picked up her staff on the floor, which Adler must've taken from her. I expected her to do some crazy airbending move, but she just banged him over the head with it.  
"Sometimes you just have to keep it simple," Skyler explained.  
I smiled and nodded. I looked at Adler. He was staring into space, looking like he couldn't remember what just happened.  
"Mommy..." he muttered.  
Skyler giggled and I couldn't help but join her.  
Then I heard Aang's voice call, "TEO! SKYLER! WHERE ARE YOU?"  
"Aang!" I exclaimed. "I almost forgot about him!"  
"We'd better get out there. He's probably worried seeing as we were supposed to meet up with him a half an hour ago," Skyler said.  
So we left the building and went outside, to find Aang holding a tied up Russell.  
"You know this guy?" Aang asked.  
Skyler shrugged. "Yeah, but... Well, we're not exactly proud to know him."  
Aang nodded. "Ok. I'll go ahead and say he's bad."  
He pushed Russell backwards and he slammed into the wall of a building. Russell looked mad, but he didn't move.  
"Oh, and I found Appa!" Aang said. Appa walked out from behind the alley.  
"So did we," I replied.  
"What happened to you?" Aang asked, his head tilted.  
Skyler shrugged. "Long story."  
"Ok," Aang said. "I'm going to feed Appa. We can leave after that."  
When he was out of sight, I turned to Skyler. "Are you going to tell Aang that you're an airbender?"  
"I don't know," she answered. "Another time, maybe."  
I nodded. That night, we were off again. Maybe, just maybe, our bad luck was over and we'd actually get home.  
TO BE CONTINUED... 


	10. Chapter 10 This is it!

You guys ready for the last chapter? Here's how it all ends!

"Skyler, look!" I exclaimed. "Over there!"  
She looked to where I was pointing and gasped.  
"This is your stop," Aang said happily.  
"We can't thank you enough," Skyler told him.  
I nodded in agreement. "It really means a lot."  
"No problem," Aang replied. "That's what I do."  
We landed. We were home. Skyler bent down and hugged me out of joy. Everything seemed normal... Until a huge group of people came out of almost nowhere and cheered and hugged us, even though we knew almost none of them. My dad pushed through the crowd followed by a women I'd never seen before.  
"Mom!" Skyler cried.  
She hugged her, and my dad did the same to me.  
"Where WERE you?" he asked. "l was worried sick! We formed a huge search party and we still couldn't find you!" "Where WERN'T we," I replied.  
Skyler lead her mom over to where we were.  
"That's Skyler," I told my dad. "And that's Teo," she said to her mom. "Without him I'd probably be dead."  
"And vice versa," I put in.  
Skyler turned to me. "There's someone I want you to meet."  
A little girl, probably two or three years old, walked over and waved at me.  
"This is my little sister," Skyler said. "Her name is Talia. Talia, can you say Teo?"  
She struggled to say my name. "Te... Te... Te Te!" She said it like "Tay Tay".  
I laughed. "She's so cute!"  
Skyler nodded. "Watch, she's going to call you Te Te now."  
Talia immediately proved this by saying, "Hi, Te Te!"  
She jumped up and down and I laughed again. The people gathered around us and started bombarding us with questions.  
"Where did you go?" one person asked.  
"Um, we were on a ship at first, then an island, then Ba Sing Se, another ship, and Kyoshi Island, and another island, another island, and here we are," I answered.  
"Who did you meet?" someone asked Skyler.  
"Well, we met Huo," she began. "And then Evron- well, I already knew him- we met Russell, a girl named Ada and her mother Kirai, the Kyoshi Warriors, and a guard named Adler. Then of course we found Aang."  
The questions went on forever, like, what did we encounter? What were some obstacles we faced? Were we scared? And things along those lines. Aang was busy with some fans of his. Eventually me and Skyler were able to escape the annoying crowd and leave them talking to each other about our "amazing adventure". We went to the tree where we'd first met and Skyler sat down. That's when I noticed what a nice little field it was- bright green grass and all kinds of flowers. Plus it always had a good breeze.  
"Back to where we started," I said.  
Skyler smiled. "Yep."  
She looked exactly as she had the first time I saw her. She stood up, brushed herself off, and took her staff out.  
"You wanna fly?" Skyler asked.  
I smiled. "Have I ever said no to flying?"  
"Let's make it a race," she replied. "We'll go in a circle. First one back wins?"  
"Sounds good."  
"But uh, first..."  
Skyler quickly looked around as if to make sure no one was watching us. Then she bent down and kissed my cheek. I felt like I was frozen.  
"And, go!" Skyler said, and took off on her glider.  
"Hey!" I yelled, laughing. "No fair!"  
And I took off after her. Officially the best day of my life. Skyler taught me something. Sometimes, you're just going to have bad luck. People will hurt you, people will reject you, people will insult you. But as long as you have spirit, nothing can stand in your way.  
THE END!

I was going to put this up seperate, but I'll just do it now. Here are the name meanings and why I chose them.  
Skyler: Sky (For obvious reasons)  
Huo: Fire (He's Fire Nation)  
Evron: Extreme anger (He hates them)  
Russell: Fox (Because he tried to trick them)  
Ada: Kind (She was nice)  
Kirai: Hate (She was mean)  
Kyrrah: Leader, warrior (She was the leader of the Kyoshi warriors while Suki was away)  
Adler: Guard (He was a guard)  
Talia: Angel (It just seemed to fit)  
Ok, that's it! Be on the lookout for Spirit 2: Flying Solo! 


End file.
